United States 

Department of

Agriculture

Forest 

Service

Southwestern

Region

MB-R3-05-3a

September 2011

Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement for the 

Rosemont Copper 

Project

A Proposed Mining Operation 

Coronado National Forest

Pima County, Arizona

Volume 2
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Printed on recycled paper – September 2011
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Rosemont Copper Project i

Environmental Impact Statement for the 

Rosemont Copper Project

Coronado National Forest

Pima County, Arizona

Lead Agency: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service

Cooperating Agencies: Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Saguaro 

National Park, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory – Fred 

Lawrence Whipple Observatory, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 

U.S. Department of the Air Force Davis-Monthan Air Force Base 

162nd Fighter Airwing, Arizona Department of Environmental 

Quality, Arizona Department of Mines and Mineral Resources, 

Arizona Department of Transportation, Arizona Department of Water 

Resources, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Arizona Geological 

Survey, Arizona State Land Department, Arizona State Mine 

Inspector, Arizona State Parks, Pima County, City of Tucson, Town 

of Sahuarita

Responsible Official: Jim Upchurch, Coronado National Forest, Forest Supervisor

300 W. Congress St.

Tucson, AZ 85701

For Information Contact: Bev Everson, Interdisciplinary Team Leader

300 W. Congress St.

Tucson, AZ 85701

(520) 388-8300

Abstract: 

This draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) documents the analysis of six alternatives 

(including a “no action” alternative) that was developed for the Rosemont Copper Project analysis. 

Alternative 4 – Barrel Alternative is the U.S. Forest Service preferred alternative. The Notice of 

Intent to prepare this document was published in the Federal Register on March 13, 2008. The public

comment period was subsequently extended with a Notice of Intent that was published in the Federal 

Register on April 29, 2008. The Rosemont Copper Project proposes to mine copper and associated 

minerals on the Nogales Ranger District of the Coronado National Forest. The proposed activities 

include an amendment to the 1986 “Coronado National Forest Land and Resource Management 

Plan.”

A final environmental impact statement (FEIS) and a record of decision may be released following 

public review and comment on this DEIS. Comments received in response to this solicitation, 

including names and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the public record on 

this proposed action and will be available for public inspection. Comments submitted anonymously 

will be accepted and considered; however, those who submit anonymous comments will not have 

standing to appeal the subsequent decision under 36 Code of Federal Regulations Part 215.

Reviewers should provide the Forest Service with their comments during the review period of the 

DEIS. This will enable the Forest Service to analyze and respond to the comments at one time and to 

use information acquired in the preparation of the final environmental impact statement, thus 

avoiding undue delay in the decision making process. Reviewers have an obligation to structure their 
ii Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Rosemont Copper Project

participation in the National Environmental Policy Act process so that it is meaningful and alerts the 

agency to the reviewers’ position and contentions (Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 

435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978)). Environmental objections that could have been raised at the draft stage 

may be waived if not raised until after completion of the FEIS (City of Angoon v. Hodel (9th Circuit, 

l986) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980)). Comments 

on the DEIS should be specific and should address the adequacy of the statement and the merits of 

the alternatives discussed (40 Code of Federal Regulations 1503.3).

Send Comments to: Rosemont Comments

P.O. Box 4207

Logan, UT 84323

Date Comments Must Be Received: The 90-day public comment period begins the day after the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency publishes a Notice of Availability for the DEIS in the Federal 

Register. Comments MUST be received before the close of business on the last day of the comment 

period.
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Rosemont Copper Project iii

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Documents

forest plan “Coronado National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan,” 

as amended (U.S. Forest Service 1986)

preliminary MPO preliminary mine plan of operations (WestLand Resources Inc. 

2007)

Other abbreviations

°F degrees Fahrenheit

ΔE color difference index

Augusta Resource Augusta Resource Corporation

CD compact disc

CO carbon monoxide

CO2 carbon dioxide

DEIS draft environmental impact statement

FEIS final environmental impact statement

Forest Service U.S. Forest Service

g the acceleration due to gravity equaling 32 feet per second squared

ID team interdisciplinary team

IMPLAN Impact Analysis for Planning

MPO mine plan of operations

N2O nitrous oxide

NO2 nitrogen dioxide

NOx nitrogen oxides

O3 ozone

Pb lead

PM2.5 particulate matter less than or equal to 2.5 microns in diameter

PM10 particulate matter less than or equal to 10 microns in diameter

ROD record of decision

Rosemont Copper Rosemont Copper Company

Rosemont Copper Project EIS Rosemont Copper Project Environmental Impact Statement

SO2 sulfur dioxide

TEP Tucson Electric Power

the Coronado Coronado National Forest (the agency)

VOC volatile organic compound